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Dorothy Roberts
by George J. Dance Dorothy Mary Gostwick Roberts (July 6, 1906 - April 23, 1993) was a Canadian poet and story writer, who spent most of her adult life in the United States.Biographical sketch, Dorothy Roberts and August R. Leisner fonds, University of New Brunswick, UNB,ca, Web, July 3, 2012. Life Roberts was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick , the 3rd child of Frances (Allan) and poet and novelist Theodore Goodridge Roberts. Confederation Poet Sir Charles G.D. Roberts was her uncle.. As a child she lived in England, France, Ottawa, and Toronto; the family returned to Fredericton and settled down when she was in her teens.Erin Watling, Dorothy Gostwick Roberts, New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia, St. Thomas University, STU.ca, Web, July 3, 2012. She attended both the University of New Brunswick and Connecticut State University.Dorothy Roberts, Canadian Women Poets, Brock University, BrockU.ca, Web, July 3, 2012. She then worked as a reporter for the Fredericton Daily Mail, and began publishing stories in a number of magazines. She also wrote poetry during that time; it has been said that "the high quality of her early poetry was at least partly responsible for G.D. Roberts's own poetic rebirth in 1925 and 1926."Introduction to August Leisner, "Charles G.D. Roberts: Mystical Poet", Studies in Canadian Literature 9:2 (1984), Web, July 3, 2012. Her debut collection of poetry, a chapbook issued under the name "Gostwick Roberts", was published in 1927. In 1929 Roberts married August R. Leisner; the couple had 2 children, Anne (born 1931) and John (born 1937). The family moved to Toronto in 1934, and to Ithaca, New York, in 1940. In 1945 they settled in State College (now University Park), Pennsylvania, where Leisner held a professorship of English at Pennsylvania State College (later Pennsylvania State University).Dorothy Roberts, Dictionary of Literary Biography (Thomson Gale, 2005-2006), BookRags.com, Web, July 3, 2012. Roberts became a familiar figure on the Penn State campus, where she organized poetry readings and discussions."Dorothy Roberts, Poet, 86," Obituaries, New York Times, Apr. 30, 1993. Web, July 23, 2012. From 1938 to 1954 Roberts worked on a novel, which was never published. She also wrote stories, mainly on family life, which she sold to various publications. In the late 1950s she began to seriously pursue a career in poetry.. She joined the League of Canadian Poets, and published six more volumes of verse – the last in 1991, just two years before her death. She died at State College, Pennsylvania, in 1993. Recognition Robers won the Northern Review award in 1951 for her short story, "Hunger".Roberts, Dorothy Gostwick, Canada's Early Women Writers, Simon Fraser University. Web, Feb. 4, 2013.. Publications *''Songs for Swift Feet'' (as "Gostwick Roberts"). Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1927. *''Dazzle''. Toronto: Ryerson, 1957. *''Star and Stalk''. Toronto: Emblem Books, 1959. *''Twice To Flame''. Toronto: Ryerson, 1961. *''Extended''. Fredericton, NB: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1967. *''The Self of Loss: New and selected poems''. Fredericton, NB: Fiddlehead Poetry Books, 1976. *''Staying''. Toronto: League of Canadian Poets, 198-? *''In the Flight of Stars''. Fredericton, NB: Goose Lane Editions, 1991. *''The Essential Dorothy Roberts''. Erin, ON: Porcupine’s Quill, 2018. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au: Dorothy Roberts 1906-1993, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Mar. 17, 2019. See also *New Brunswick poets *List of Canadian poets References Fonds *Dorothy Roberts and August R. Leisner fonds at the University of New Brunswick Notes External links ;Books *''The Essential Dorothy Roberts'' at Amazon.ca ;About *Dorothy Roberts at Canadian Women Poets *Roberts, Dorothy Gostwick at Canada's Early Women Writers *Dorothy Gostwick Roberts in the New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia Category:1906 births Category:1993 deaths Category:20th-century poets Category:20th-century women writers Category:Canadian poets Category:Canadian women writers Category:English-language poets Category:Poets Category:University of New Brunswick alumni Category:Wesleyan University alumni Category:Women poets Category:Writers from New Brunswick Category:People from Fredericton Category:New Brunswick poets